Evening Star Newspaper, October 24, 1896, Page 16

16 THE EVENING STAR, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24, 1896-TWENTY-FOUR PAGES. = ROLLING GOLD INGOTS INTO STRIPS FOR COINING. BULLION INTO COIN Progress of a $20 Gold Piece From Mine to Mint. ——— HOW GOLD 1S MELTED AND PURIFIED a Ingots Passing Through Uncle Sam's Rolling Mill at Philadelphia. HOW EAGLES ARE PUNCHED (Copyrighted, 1896, by Frank G. Carpenter.) PHILADELPHIA, October 21, 1896. N MY LETTERS [e= the Rocky mountains I have de- scribed how the atoms of gold and silver are dragged forth from the rocks and by means of chemicals and fire are turned into bul- lion. I have come tc Philadelphia to tell you how the bullion is turned into dollars The Philadelphia mint is the largest and oldest of the United States. It is sald to be one of the finest mints of the world. It coins millions of dollars’ worth of gold and silver every year. It has, since its beginning, during the presidency of George Washington, pur- chased more than a billion and @ half dol- lars’ worth of gold. Its vaults now contain almost $200,000,000 in gold and silver, and its wonderful machinery is turning golden bricks into golden eagles. It is coining sil- ver at the rate of thousands of dollars a day, and a walk through its treasure cham- bers would lead you to think that the United States has a vast surplus of coin, rather than being, as our stump speakers say, in the midst of a money famine. A Walk Through Our Biggest Money Factory. Let us take a walk through this great money factory and see how Uncle Sam buys gold and silver bullion and turns it into coin. The mint, yeu know, fs in the heart of Philadelphia. It is only a block or so from the city hall, and not more than @ stone's throw from John Waaamaker's big store. Thousands of hungry-eyed empty-stomached people go by it every day. Fortunes are being carried in and out of it continually, and a few blocks of stone and a plate or two of steel are all that separates its treasures from the hungry mob. It has a single vault which contains more than fifty million standard silver dollars. The money is tied up in bags ard stacked against the wall like so Cooling the Ingots. much corn, and yet the precious metal is so near the hungry crowd above that, as you stand in the vault, you can almost hear the tread of the passersby upon the Pavement. Another vault which I visited had great piles of golden bricks. In one cerner of it there was a cord of golden cakes, each of about the size of the ordi- nary cake of soap, and this pile was big enough to fill the largest dry goods box. I lifted one gold brick, which weighed bout forty pounds, and which the meltey and refiner told me was worth $10,000. It Was not bigger than the average clay brick used In house building, and under it there were a score of boxes filled with bricks of the same metal, some of which were al- mcst twice as large. I was taken into a silver vault, where great quantities of sil- ver bullion were stored, the white metal it seemed to me, being thrown about like so much lead. I walked through room after room, In which these two precious metals were being cut and oo vari- ous ways, now boiling like water ‘id the fire of the furnaces, now fashioned like steel under the enormous weight of the rolling mii until at last they came forth in the shape of the wonderfully beautiful coins of the United States. And, with it all, not an atom of gold or silver was lost. ‘These are the processes we shall see in our trip through the mint. How cle Sam Buys Gold. Our first visit is to the cashier's office. We shall go to the deposit or weighing room, where all the gold and silver first comes, and where it is weighed and ac- tually tested before it is paid for. The room is only a few steps from the front door of the mint. We follow an express messenger, who is carrying a golden brick from the mines of Montana. There he stands at the door. He lifts the brick with his two hands and passes it in through a little window like a teller’s window at the bank. We can see through the grating into the room where it goes. The deposit clerk takes it and lays it on one side of a pair of heavy brass scales. The scales do not seem to be delicate, but they will weigh down to the thousandth part of an ounce, and the weight of the brick, to the one- hundredth part of an ounce, is ascertained. ‘The deposit clerk now writes out re- ceipt, stating the weight, and hands this back to the expressman. The gold brick is now in the hands of the officials of the mint. It will not be paid for, however, un- til it is known just how fine is the gold of which it is made. Gold is never found pure in the state of nature; it always con- tains more or less silver, and it is some- times mixed with copper and lead. Before Uncle Sam buys it he has to know to a cent Just how fine It is, and the deposit clerk sends the brick off to be melted. He puts {it into an iron box and locks the same with two keys, and it Is carried to the deposit melting room. We have letters from the director of the mint at Washington to Maj. Kretz, the superintendent, and through these the officials admit us, and we follow the brick. We enter a room which looks Iike an immense kitchen. Into its sides ere built four great ranges, the tops of which slope upward at the back at an an. gle of about 45 degrees until they meet the Walls. In the center of each top there is a square hole covered by an iron lid which sl-des back and forth. Some of the holes are open and we see the coal fire blazing below them. Sunk deep into the coals of evch range is a pot as large as a four-gal- Jon crock, and of much the same shape. These are the vessels in which the gold ts melted. They are made of black lead, but when not in use they are of the color of clay, and they look not unlike immense flower pots. In the fires they soon become red, and the one in which our gold brick is placed is already at a white heat. ‘A cover is put vpon it, the coals are banked about it, and the lid of the furnace is pulled to. In a short time the metal of the brick has become one liquid mass, which the furnace man stirs to and fro until the material within is thoroughly mixed. He then lifts the pot out of the fire with a pair of iron pincers, and runs the flaming metal into iron molds. As soon as it is cooled it is re- weighed, and a small piece is cut from each bar and sent to the assayer. The assayer tests the sample and tells Uncle Sam just how much gold, silver and copper the brick contains, and upon this estimate the de- Positor is paid. Prepnring the Gold for Coin. The gold brick is now turned over to the melter and refiner. This man ts one of the most important of the officials of the mint. He must separate the silver and gold, and must sce that the gold and silver are of the requisite fineness for coin. It is he who manages the 16 to J business, and if the pofitical parties could agree upon a methoa of controlling him there would be no room for discussion. According to our law our gold coin must be { parts fine; that is, in every coin 900 out of the 1,000 parts of which it is made must he pure gold. In order to ac- complish this result the melter and refiner must have the pure gold to begin with. He must take all the gold out of the brick, but in such a way as to leave no silver or other metals connected with it. His method is an odd one. He takes the gold brick and melts it with a lot of silver. He does this be- cause the acid which is to take the silver out of the gold will not work well without there is plenty of silver in the mixture. He knows just how much silver is necessary for the right combination, and he adds this amount to our gold brick. The combined metals are next thrown into a vessel con- taining nitric acid. This acid has a peculiar affinity for silver and for the baser metais. It has no effect upon gold, but it sucks all of the other metals out of the mixture and combines with them, turning them into a liquid which looks not unlike water. The pure gold drops to the bottom of the vessel, while the silver and other metals are ieft in the solution. The liquor is now drawn off, and the melter and refiner has a lot of pure gold, out of which he makes another brick or bar. This metal, however, is too pure for our coins. We find it so soft that we can scratch it with our finger nails, and we are told that coins made of pure gold would not hold their own for a year, and that a wedding ring made of pure gold would hardly outlast the honeymoon. It is therefore necessary that the metal be one- tenth alloyed with silver and copper. The alloy hardens the coins and makes them wear. The melter and refiner knows just how much is needed, and he puts this amount with our gold. He takes more gold and more copper in the same proportions, and weighs out enough for what 13 known as a melt or the amount to be melted at one time. In the Melting Room. We follow the mass of gold and alloy te the melting room, and soon find ourselves in a vast factory-like place, which is wallec with small furnaces, and in which dozens of soot-covered men are busily working Some are banking up coals about clay pots like those we saw in the furnaces of the deposit melting room. Others arc lifting out what seem to be red hot dippers of molten gold and pouring the flaming liquid into iron molds, a little more than a foot long and two inches in thickness. Three of these molds are fastened together, and three golden ingots are thus molded at one time. We stop and watch the process. It makes us think of that of cooking waf- fles. The molds are first laid open and greased with lard. They are then locked together by iron bands, stood upon end, and the yellow liquid poured into them. ‘The metal hardens as it strikes the cold fren, and a moment later the molds are orened and the ingots are dropped out upen a table to be seized with a pair of pircers and plunged into cold water. They come out steaming hots but soon cool. and later on we have a chance to handle them. We find that each of them looks like a chisel or wedge. It is twelve inches long, half an inch thick, and about two inches wide. The width is graduated according to the size of the coin to be made from the ingots. ‘Those we see molded are for .twenty-dollar gold pieces, and each ingot is worth, we are told, about $1,400. Little Chance for Thieves in the Mint. As we watch the workmen ladeling out gold like so much water we notice that now and then a bit of the precious metal splashes out and falls to the floor, and we wonder whether there 1s not some way by which the employes might steal themselves rich. We ask the melter and refiner whether thefts of small amounts of gold are not common. He replies that such a theft would soon be detected, and shows us how every day this room is charged with every bit of gold that comes into it, and how it must give back as much as it gets. He points to the floor, which is cov- ered with an iron network of a honey- comb pattern, the cells of which, an inch in diameter, are raised about half an inch above the floor, so that every bit of gold which falls drops down within them. Says he: “No one could pick up a grain of gold out of that network without being seen. Some years ago we had only bare floors, and in one of the mints we found that we were losing gold. The leak could not be discovered, until at last the detec- tives noticed that one of the furnace men Was spending more money than his wages warranted. He was buying real estate and was living at an extravagant rate. He was watched, and it was found that he was in the habit of putting shoemaker’s wax up- on the soles of his boots. Whenever he saw a bit of gold or silver upon the floor he would carelessly step upon it. The pre- cious metal would sink into the wax and stick to his feet. That night he would scrape it off, get out the gold, and come back the next day with a fresh coat of wax for more. With this floor such a thing is not possible. The rooms are swept every day, and the sweepings of this mint amount to about $40,000 a year. We save every bit of the ashes. Our old pots are broken up and remeited, and every bit of gold gotten out. We have, in fact, a record of almost every atom of gold which comes into the mint, from the time it enters the deposit room until it goes out in coin or bullion.” Making Gold Eagles. But let us follow the golden ingots we have just seen drop from the molds. They are of the right standard of fineness for gold double eagles, and it would seem that the process of turning them into :noney would be simple enough. We have the idea, held by many, that our coins are made by casting, the gold and silver being melted and turned into molds, just as in the making of bullets, save that, when the molds are opened, out drop gold dollars and silver dollars, instead of balls of lead. There was never a greater mistake. Our coins are not molded. They are stamped out of ccld metal, and an enormous pres- stre puts upon their faces the beautiful images of the Goddess of Liberty und the American eagle. The gold ingots, gold chisels, wedges, or whatever you choose to call them, are first rolled between cylinders of steel, so graduated that the ingots grow smaller and smaller as they are pulled through them untii at last they reach the thickness of a twenty-dollar gold piece. Trey also grow longer and longer, and they have now been stretched from one foot to | between three and four feet in length. As tkey come from the rolling machines they lock like so many strips of hoop iron, save that they are yellow. They are next car- ried to what might be called the puncher. You have seen the punchers by which ccokies, animal crackers and gingerbread men are made out of dough. Well, it is on the same principle that the yellow disks, out of which the coins are made, are cut out of the strips of metal rolled from the ingots, save that the work here is done by machinery, and a heavy press of steel does the cutting. The strips are run under a vertical steel punch, which cuts round Pieces of gold out of them at the rate of about sixty a minute, or at the rate of twenty dollars’ worth of gold every se:ond. As the disks are cut out they fall down through a hole into a box below, and the re- Mainder of the yellow strip out of waich they are cut is taken away to be melted up to make more ingots. As we look we note that the box under the machine is now filled with these round gold blanks. They have, as yet, no marks upon them. They are not milled, and there are a number of precesses through which they must go be- fcre they can be turned into money. Every Coin Weighed. In the first place, every one of those gold disks or blanks must be weighed b nd to see that it Is of just the right weight before it is stamped. This is done with blanks of both gold and sliver, the blanks for the silver dollars being handled again and again to be sure that they are accurate before they are sent to be mace into coins. We follow the box of these round pieces of gold to what is known as the adjusting room. This is an immense hall, in which there are a number of long tables, covered with piles of gold blanks. About the tables sit one hundred women, each having one of these piles before her. Each woman has @ pair of small scales, so sensitive that a breath of air would affect their accuracy. With these she weighs each blank. If tHe balance is perfect, the gold blank 1s drop- ped into a box containing those yeady for coining. If it is a trifle too heavy the wo- man rasps some gold off its edge with a flat file. If it Is much too heavy, or much too light, it is thrown out to be melted over again. This process goes ‘on until every disk in the box is weighed. The perfect disks are now ready for coinage. How the Milling is Done. The milling of the coin is the first cpera- tion. By this is meant the making the lit- tle raised edge which you find around all our coin. The process is a singular one. The blanks are dropped into an upright tube, whence they fall into a. groove in a steel tabie, and are carried along between the rim about the edge of the table and a rapidly revoiving norizontal whe The distance between the wheel and the rim is. Cotning Machine. a trifle less than the diameter of the disk, so that in the revolution the edges of the golden disk are forced up, thus forming the raised or miiled edges. There are no little grooves on the edges as yet. ‘This Is left for the coining machine. As they come from the milling the disks are merely round pieces of gold with raised edges. They look dirty and they have to be polished and cleaned before they are stamped. Washing Precious Metal. In company with the coiner we go to a room on the lower floor, where the gol! is Washed before coining. ‘The yellow blanks are carried down stairs in wooden boxes and are emptied into a big copper col- ander, the lid of which can be tightly | clesed. When the colander is nearly | it Is raised by machincry and dropped i | a vat of acid. The acid quickly eats olf the dirt, and fifteen minutes later the coins jare bright and shining. The colinder is now raised and dropped several : into a bath of clear water to get rid of the acid, and the waskine is complete. The drying {s done in a hot cylinder. This cylinder is half filled with sawdust. After the coins are dumped in itis made to volve by machinery, and, as the disk: become dry, they are thrown out into a barrel of wire netting, through the meshes of which the sawdust drops, and from which the golden disks, now of a beauti- ful pure yellow,tiow on into a box, in which they are carried upstairs to be cojned. In_the Coining Room. Now comes the stamping of the blanks with the impressions which turns them from disks of gold into gold eagles. This work 1s done by what is known as the coining machine. The golden blanks are fed through a tube, which drops them down one at a time on what might be called a little brass table. As the yellow disks drop a steel finger and thumb comes out from the machitfe and grasps it and places it between two dies, which move up and down between enormous steel arms. The upper die bears the picire of the Goddess of Liberty and the lower that of the American eagle and lettering of what might be calle 1 side of our gold pieces. As the disk comes between these two dies an enormous pressure is exerted. The dies squeeze it and a second later they drop it, with the perfect im- pression of one of our gold double eagles upon ft. At the same time the machine carries it off and dreps it into a box pro- vided for the purpose, while the steci feed- ers have placed another blank between the dies. The gold coins are now handed over to the counters. They are separated into two classes—known as lights and heavies—for some weigh just a trifle more than others. The light ones and the heavy ones are mixed together and then stored away In little bags ready for ship- ment to the banks in the United States or to the subtreasuries, as may be demanded. ADORNING THE HOME Palms and Rubber Plants and Their Decorative Uses. CONDITIONS iF CONTINUED BEAUTY The Chrysanthemum Deposed as ' se) the Queen of Flowers. Tae | ROSES AND VIOLETS HERE 18 POS- sibly nothing quite so attractive for a household ornament as a healthy, grow- ing plant. Just at this season of the year. the palms and rubber plants, which have been enjoying a riotous span of life under the smil- ing influences of the sunshine all the past = summer, have been restored: to thetr accustomed places in the house, and, of course, thelr condition, healthy or otherwise, invites comment. As a rule, whatever these plants have added to their girth or height during the sum- mer will represent their gain for the year. Their tropical constitutions are not cap- able of much exertion or expansion during the winter, and the unfolding of a new leaf is really a matter of great moment during this period to those who are fond of watching their development and growth. An experienced florist, to whom a Star reporter talked the ather day, sald that contrary, perhaps, to the general impres- sion the fall is not the season for repot- ting cr slipping rubber plants. The spring is tho time. Repotting of both palms and rubbers was made a necessity in hun- dreds of cases lately after the night of the big siorm, when so many fine plants, still adorning gardens, were toppled over. “Ex- cepting for this they would have needed no change until next spring, for the little which would have been added to their size Would not have affected the root. Easy to Care For. Palms end rubber plants are in such general use as house ornaments because it is comparatively easy to care for them. Just like human beings, they are extreme- ly sensitive to changes in temperature, and should be guarded against draughts. They want sunshine and light for healthy growth, and deprived of either or bo:h they scon show a failure in beauty «nd vigor. In the average house the plant has some tough experiences. Madame deco- Tates the pot with silken scarfs; puts the plant where the softened glare of a big lamp fails prettily on it, but at the same lime, little either scorches dries up the plant itself, or it is 1 all due regard tQ light and sun: window . ‘where every that blows hjyering and chilling sen: tion to its véry heart. If all the conditions of sun and light, with an cquable tempera- iure, are in the plant’s favor, besides keep ing the roats,slightly moist, it is necessary that the leayes of both plants and rubbers should be képt free from dust by wasning them off cargfully, every day with,a sponge or soft cloth.in lukewarm water, Attention of this kind need not take much time, and the appearance of the plant in its glossy grcen will be ample compensation. They Need Protection. Unless fortunately protected by dense overhanging; foliage, neither rubbers or palms, if stiti outdoors, could have sur- vived the réeent ‘frosts. There will be many mild days yet, and, in fact, off and on aU) winter, when théy could be exposed without dangeg, but, as # rule, it is best to keep indoors and runino risks, for it takes a long hime for a plant to regain Its vigor after a blight, whether it,be a freezing or a orching..ane. Many West End families who own fine plants have them cared for by their florist during the summer months or during a riod of extended absence, This is pos- sibly the happiest time the plants will ever know. In company with hundreds of others, they are placed in a green house, where they have nothing to do but keep ning and green in the warmth and light. They go in yellow, stunted and sickly, and emerge, when the owners want them, lux- uriating in renewed health and beauty. Meny wealthy housekecpers, however, do not own the plants which adorn their hemes. For a fixed sum, and a very rea- scrable one, a house will be kept decked with plants, and their well-being will be lcoked after <very day by the florist, and new plants, as they succeed each other in blocm, added from time to time. For the 1 flower lover this way is the luxury of plant-keeping, and the custom has many fellowers. No Longer the Floral Queen. The chrysanthemum will not be queen of the floral realm this fal The big Japanese biossom whose gorgeous flower- ing comes just when all other round-the- year favorites; are on the wane takes a more modest place in the estimation of those who enjoy flower noveltie will be no special “mum” shows this 2 tumn, such as distinguished the falls of the past four or five years in New York. ‘The dethroned queen is not quite forgot- ten, however, for she forms an attraction at a live stock show there now, where she is displayed in a hundred beautiful and many new varieties. Fashion must have novelties, and frem that source aion# was dictated the fall of the chrysanthe- mum. The set in New York, who may truly be said to make the fashion for the Test ot the country, have decreed that tney have had enough of the chr: i mum, and the dealers who have watched the trend of tneir patrons’ thoughts have almost disearded the ratsing of that flower and filled their forcing hous merous varieties of orchids. in beautiful colorings and sha the proper thing for all deco for those who can afford such a costly luxury. The masses of people will, how- ever, still cling to the Japanese flower, and its uses, so far as ricn and effective displays are conzerned, must =till be gen- eral, The decadence of the craze tas, of course, cheapened the cost, and it is pos- sible to make extensive decorative effects on an outlay which will probably not reach half the cost of twa seasons ago. FRANK G. CARPENTER. ee AN ALIBI OFFICE. A London Institution Which Makes Pretended Travel Look Real. From the London Telegraph. Novel ideas are being put into practice every day, and if rumor Is to be believed the latest thing in original conception hag assumed the form of an alibi office. What is an alibi office? the bewildered reader may be inclined to esk. Well, in this par- ticular case it is an establishment which undertakes to post letters from any and every corner of the world. It is, in fact, a sort of philanthropic institution, devised for the benefit of persons who, while re- maining quietly at home in a sort of in- cognito condition, can make belleve that they are on a long tour. Thus is human vanity satisfied, and thus are the expenses of a regular journey saved. A man takes leave of his friends at the close of the sea- son with the announcement that his recrea- tion will assume the form, for instance, of a run through Spain and Portugal, and at regular intervals follow letters from Mad- rid, Seville, Lisben, Oporto and so on, duly stamped and postmarked. The alleged promoters of the enterprise are represented as arguing that, after ail, this pleases the people who do not care for the trouble and fatigue of traveling, but are eager to enjoy the prestige with which a grand tour will, as they fancy, invest them in the eyes of their friends. As to the logic of this line of reasoning, to say no more, your readers may safely be left to draw their own conclusions. After all, The orchid has, however, always carried the day in pojnt af expense, and its money value, Hike pgint lace fans, India shawls, scalsKins and such like ‘necessities for Ithy,,rarely wavers from its top- al figure, : Roses ‘and Violets. Roses are beautiful just now, whether it be the last one; whether one-#iewS’a collection in a florist’s storehouse. No matter how many the ew varieties, thé American beauty holds her own as queen! of tiem all, and will be just as popular ghis ywinter as ever. While moderat stl ust now, when the gzy season begitis and social events succeed each other with @{ddy rapidity, the price will mount higher: and higher, until it is far beyond the reach of the ordinary being. The modest, violet is on hand also, and holds its own without dread of anybody’s fear or favor‘as the flower of all others to wear. Tne eprsage or boutonniere of vio- lets has a. subtle. attraction of its own which no other flower can hope to attain. Bridal bouquets are just as popular made of vailey lilies as of bride roses, and pos- sibly are more artistic. Valley ‘lilies can be had now, but the fashionable thing Is, of course, the orchid. — A MEDIAEVAL MUSIC BOOK. Photographic Reproduction of the Songs Contained in the Jena Book. Fiom the London Standard. An extremely interesting fragment of the middle ages has just received a fresh lease of life. For the lart 300 years there has been preserved in the university Mbrary at Jena a manuscript song book of 266 this may be mere report, for the office is described as being a very discreet institu- tion, having no outward and visible sign of existence. : large folio pages, which contains a rich collection of Minnesinger songs, with their | metodtes, together with the “Sangerkreig,” all written ir superb fourteenth century German text. This book, which is an in- valuable authority for the study of the music of the middle ages, has now been made accessible to a wider circle by a photographic reproduction on the same Scale as the original. The 133 leaves of the precious parchment manuscript were pho- tograpked and reproduced by the photo- type process. Two separate editions have been prepared, one, of 110 copies, printed on two sides on 133 leaves as in the origi- nal, the other, of 30 cop‘es, on one side only of 206 leaves. In the preface, Dr. K. Muller, director of the university library,. gives a brief ac- count of what is known cencerhing the manuscript. It came, in 1548, from Witten- berg, with the elector’s Mbrary, into the keeping of the Jena University. Nothing certain is known as to its origin and pre- vious history; the care with which it is executed and its unusual size—the leaves are fifty-six centimeters long by forty- one broad—would seem to show that it was designed for some special purpose. The initial and final pages, which may have contained remarks that could give some information on this matter, are, unfortu- nately, missing. The binding of wooden covers completely incased in beautifully pressed white leather belongs to the six- teenth certury; the chain, by which the precious manuscrjpt, in accordance with the custom of those times, was fastened to the reading desk, Is still preserved. On the inner side of the front cover, as is the case with many of the books which came from Wittenberg, is a wood cut, as book- mark. of the bust of the Elector Johann Friedrich the magnanimous, with some Lat.n verses in his praise. To the outer side of the same cover is attached a strip of parchment with the inscription: “Kin aldt Meistergesengbuch auff pergamen” (an old Meister song book on parchment). The Jena manuscript has one very spe- cial merit, viz., that to the words are add- ed the tures. This makes it of particular importance in the study of music. The notes are written on only four lines, as always at that time, and in the keys of C and F. The flats only are marked. The manuscript is written almost throughout by one and the same hand of the four- teenth century; some notes in the margin and Wizlay’s poems alone are written by a later hand. The contents of the manu- script include poems by twenty-eight Min- nesingers and Meistersingers, as well as songs for the “Sangerkreig,” on the Wart- burg. The undertaking has met with a very favorable reception, even outside the im- mediately interested circle of specialists and public libraries. It bas been assisted by subscriptions from the Emperor William, the Grand Duke of Weimar and the Duke of Me‘ningen. SS ONE OF TIME’S CHANGES. Cheers Instend of the Rope for a Man Who Stole Only a Horse. Fron: the Caleago Evening Post. An excited crowd had gathered around the young man, and there were cries of Lynch him!" “String him up!” &c. “What's the matter?” asked the tender- foot on the outskirts of the crowd, anx- iously. “Goln’ to be a tynching, I reckon,” re- plied the old gray-whiskered man, who was intently watching the proceedings over the heads of the crowd. “Yes, that’s the game,” he added after a minute or two. “Some of tMe boys has got hold of a young fellow that has strayed from the straight an’ narrer path, an’ he’s jest about to see the error of his ways.”” The tenderfoot stood en tiptoe and his eyes seemed to stick out even with the tip of his no: but he could see nothing but a determined-looking youth standing against @ tree with his arms tied behind him and his feet tied together. “Has he killed some one?” asked the ten- derfoot at last. “I reckon he has,” replied the old man. “It looks like Prairie Pete from here, an’ if It is he’s gat not less’n five notches on the handle of his gun.” “And in consequenci condemned to death, I suppose he's been said the tenderfoot. What's that?” demanded the old man. “D'ye think he’s goin’ to be jerked up for killin’ a few men?” “Why, of course. Isn't he— “Not on your bowie! We don't hang men for that out here. We've got too much re- spect for a live man to shove him after a dead one.” “Then what has the fellow done?’ asked the tenderfoot. “He stole a bicycle,” replied the old man, slowly and impressively. Just then there was a movement near the center of the crowd, and the next minute the man had been réleasd and some one in the crowd was calling three cheers for Prairie Pete. ‘The tenderfoot looked at the old man in- quiringly. “All a mistake,” explained the latter, as he caught a few words coming from the center of the crowd. “Prairie Pete has quared hisself an ‘proved it wasn’t no bi- cycle that he stole after al nor yet a motorcycle. It wasn’t nothin’ but a hoss.” sie Sos The Trials of Mr. From the Scranton Truth. His name was John Ditto, and it got him into all sorts of entanglements. When his name was written or printed in a list of other names it was often interpreted as meaning “the same as” the name imme- diately before !t. The first time he went to St. Louis he signed his name on the hotel register “John Ditto,” under the name of a man named Hinkleschneider, and the clerk, presuming that he had written “Ditto” merely to save time and ink, called him Mr. Hinkleschneider, and as “John Hinkle- schneider, a prominent citizen of Som- erville, Texas,” he was announced in the daily papers as among the arrivals at the Laclede Hotel. News of this preceded him when he went back to Texas, and after- ward he was as often called by the name Hinkleschneider as he was by his right name. His name got him his wife, they said. At a country fair he was invited to join a friend and some young ladies in a refresh- ment tent. When the party was asked each to name his or her preference in the way of beverage, John said he would take lemonade, and the strange young lady next to him said she would take “ditto.” This mild joke was cultivated, as such jokes are in rural neighborhoods, until the young lady was talked into really taking Ditto as her husband. He escaped for a time being drafted dur- ing the war because his name, as copied olf the original list, was given on the copy not as Ditto, but the same surname as that of the man whose name preceded his. He Forgot His Bride's Name. From the Cleveland Plain-Dealer. “Say, please hold on there, my friend. Walt till I-go home and get her last name. I'll be back before long.” This was the funny exclamation made by a man in the probate court Thursday after he had entered his own name and the given name of his prospective wife on the license book. Clerk Schwab, who was dispensing the young man’s wants, looked up startled. It was one of the most amusing things he had run across in his diversified career behind the counter. After vainly trying to suggest the missing name, he agreed there was nothing left but to go home after it. ‘The young man was Eugene Murphy. He dictated and spelled out the name of his intended. It was A-u-g-u-s-t-a . But there it suddenly stopped. Murphy blushed, looked slightly—just _slightly—dieturbed, turned all sorts of colors in a minute, and finally thought he'd give it up. That is pre- cisely what Clerk Schwab did. After tar- rymg with his pen in hand for a few min- utes, he told the young man to come hack after he knew whom he was going to marry. Meanwhile, an interrogation point was left as a substitute for the troublesome ap- pendage. Better make it “What d’ you call her?’ suggested a bystander. Perhaps it would have fitted the case to a “T.” “Were you ever in such a predicament?” mildly queried Murphy. “Say, but it's tough, boys. She'll think I’m’ forgetting her thus early. But I’m not. I hope you will fare better.” Then he departed to solve the fatal co- nundrum. It seems that Murphy did solve it. Later In the day the missing name was found on the register. Only the difference in the shade of the ink remained to tell the tale of a prospective husband’s plight. ‘The full name was Augusta Krentz. eee ete Sunday in New York. From Up to Date. Man (in drug stcre)—"I want a quart of red paint.” Clerk—“‘We're just out of rye. white do?’ Ditto. Won't AMONG SUNDOWNERS How the Tramps of Australia Live on the at Nightfa! Written for The Evening Star. There is a class of men in Australia who, year after year, eke out a precarious living by “‘sundowning.” Wherever you go, whether near the large cities or “away back” on the plains of the interior, you will meet “swagmen” or tramps, men who have no home and desire none. Living a life careless of any future; careless, indeed, of the present, though they may not have seen a coin or had a good meal for days. The warm climate of the colonies makes It no hardship to camp out at nights for ten months of the year, and even in July and August there is no severe coldness. To es- cape the slight frosts and the sain a sheet of bark beside a dead wood fire affords all the protection they need. “Sundowner” is a term originating from the custom of swagmen making toward a “station” or sheep ranch at sundown, there to claim rations and a bunk in the huts for the night. A few years ago, and even to- day on many stations, it has been the cus- tom to allow every man on the place rations at the rate of a pound of mutton, a pan- nikin (pint) of flour and an ounce of tea. The custom was instituted by the early squatters, in order to have men about the place in case of a bush fire. Later the sun- dcwners grew bold and squatters continued the rations in order to placate them, in- stances having repeatedly occurred where men who had been refused rations have vented their spleen upon the squatter by setting fire to his sheep run. As in summer the grass is very dry and inflammable, great loss is always entailed by a fire on a run, and often miles of country are de- vastated before it can be checked. Outdoor life being so pleasant, and suffi- cient to live upon being assured, great num- bers of men too lazy to work and with no other ambition than to live easily, took up sundowning. The rule of the ration law was that the station storekeeper was only expected to give one ration per day to each traveler, so the sundowner makes a station at dusk, is afforded a bunk in the men’s hut and in the morning gets his flour, meat and tea and proceeds in the direction of the next sheep station, where the same process is gone through. Sometimes the stations are not a day’s journey apart, and as he has no right at the homestead till dusk, he loafs about or camps and sleeps under a bush or scrub till the sun is disappearing, when he streaks for the men’s quarters with alacrity. But if the stations are a long way apart, necessitating hard walking for a couple of days, then his lot is not a happy one. If he cannot prevail on some of the station hands to increase his rations, he has to make one day's provisions last two days or more, and tramp on brisker, perhaps, with a burning sun over his head and no water to drink except what he carries in his black tea billy. They dress alike, generally, in a colored cotton shirt, moleskin trousers, soft, wide- brimmed felt hat and heavy boots.’ After being a few days on the road, they are ali one color, even to their skin and boot Rolled on their back they carry their “swag,” merely a roll of blankets and a coat for rainy weather. In one hand is the billy can and in the other the “tucker bag. In the hot summer, when the flies are trou- blesome, he suspends bits of cork trom the front brim of his hat, which, dangling be- fore his face, keep the pests away. The ordinary unemployed in search of work also goes “on the wallaby track,” as traveling in this fashion 1s culled. The shearer is a totally different being, a cu- perior kind of person, who rides one horse and packs his belongings on another, though he is not above taking rations on his journey. How these men manage to keep a supply of tobacco is a mystery, even to one who hes continually come in contact with them. But they are never seen without pipe, knife and a plug of tobacco. They are not ericures in this respect, and generally smoke what is commonly known as “posts and rails"—a concoction of dried cabbage Jew’ sucks and treacle, sold as tonacco at 3f. (7 cents) per pound. They also make raids, when opportunity occurs, on the “dip” tobacco that is used for killing the tick on the sheep. They are generally masters of rhetoric: they know every swear word ever coined, and their slang is utterly unintelligible. If one desires to have the bread passed to him he just says, “Jerk the toke!” if the mut- ton, “Giv’s the jumbuck!” When he goes ‘out back” he does not carry his blankets, he “humps Maria.” Afnong themselves they have a strong bond of freemasonry. If one has a pipe of tobacco and the casual strange “swaggy” he meets has none he will willingly offer half or hand him his own half-smoked pipe. They will share their scant rations and nurse one another with womanly ten- derness. When chance puts a few shillings in their way they straightway go to the nearest “pub.” and get drunk. They become so accustomed to this pe- culiar roving life that they seem to desire no change. They simply walk from end to end of the continent, covering thousands ef miles in the year, and rarely ask for work. 1 speak of the sundowner, the pro- fessional, genuine article; for the working man who roves in search of work does not easily accustom himself to the hardship and misery and is generally glad to meet with any employment. He would rather work than, as Henry Lawson says, “shoulder his swag and face the track, ‘The heat, and the flies, and sand: To die, perchance, in the hell ‘out back,” In tiat burning’ barren land. — + PEACOCK FARMING. An Occupation Requiring Skill, but Accompanied by Great Rewards. From the Boston Globe. Raising peacocks and pheasants is a new business in this country. To supply their wants a number of millionaires are im- porting birds and eggs from England. George Vanderbilt is among the number. He has already a lot of peacocks of the breed curiously called “Japanned’’—per- haps because their feathers have a metal- Mc, lacquer-like glittering. They are often wrongly spoken of as the Japanese or Japan peacock. Theodore Havemeyer has recently imported a lot of pheasant eggs of the choicest breed. He sent them to his model farm, Mahwah, N. J., and then in- vited a company of bantam hens to hatch out the young birds. Peacocks, although not a common sight in this country, are occasionally seen; pheasants are even more rare—but, as al- ready said, a demand has isen for them, and a lucrative business should be carried on in dealing with both the eggs and the birds. In Suffvik, England, there is a pheasant mew upon one estate where more than 100,000 eggs are sold annually. To visit Warwick Castle is to see peacocks in all their glory; indeed, the place ts famous for thes2 birds, of which the handsomest are white. Having become possessed of a pair of peafowls, they require very little manage- ment, but mest be carefully fe¢. If kept in confinement they pick up a pretty sub- stantial living themselves; it must be seen to that they have plenty of water and grain and occasionally fresh vegetables. In win- ter they must have a sheltered home. In summer they avail themselves of the shel- tered trees, and in some secluded nook the nest is made. The hen should be left to her own meditations and not interferel with while she is on the nest hatching the egss. A peafowl allowed to make her own nest in a hedge always brings out a stronger and better brood than one that has a nest in a house. When hatched the young brood should not be removed until the next day, feeding noz being required. The first food should be egg and milk, equal parts, beaten together and heated until it gets into a soft mass. This is given with a little mil- let or wheat. When one adds sufficiently to one’s stock to sell eggs as well as birds, one’sgbank account should assume healthy propdftions. Bringing up pheasants by hand is an ex- tensive industry in England, and there is no reason why it should not thrive here. The eggs are collected from birds kept in a mew and are placed under domestic hens. Care on the part of the keeper must be exercised after the brood is old enough to wander about, lest, falling victims to heredity, they wander off and take to a wild life. Indeed, they can only be kept from wandering in every direction by being plentifully supplied with food, which must be scattered in the places where it ts de- sired they should stay A WORN-OUT FAD. “Spring [ledicines,”’ “Blood Purifiers” and ‘‘Tonics” an Old-Fashioned Idea. Pure tlood, healthy flesh, can « WELL, DIGESTED. tonles™ do not rasch the CAUSE of t The STOMACH is the point The satest and susest way to cure any form of i digestion is to take after each meal some harm partion which will of ITSELF DIGES Tiere ts an excelicat preparation of this Kind, Qmed of vegetable ems nces, pure pepain, eal and fruit salts, sold by’ druggists under of Sturrt’s Drape Tablets, and these tabi taken after peals assist digestion wonderfully be cause they will digest the fool promptly BEPORD IT HAS TIME to ferment and sour, and the weak ved ond assisted in ‘this way soou Stuart's Dyspepria Tal seeret patent medicin fou tre taking in by. Ww stomach diseases, ‘superior to ‘you KNOW what Thes are sold cents per packng: . for book THE COURTEOUS CABMAN. Even When He Was Ru Cable Car He Smiled From the New York Mail ard Express, The passengers in a crowded cable car coming down town this morning were treated to a most unusual scene, in which the actors were a cab driver and the eri man of the car. crowded some of the gripmen appear take delight in running down the sma vehicles, particularly hansom cabs. The result is that the cab drivers, who dislike to have their cabs scratched or inju look back and scowl in a frightful wa: and nearly always use very bad language The gripman of this particular car a: dentally ran against a hansom cab at the corner of Worth street, and gave the v: hicle a hard knock. The cabman looke back, bowed and smiled, and, instead of using the picturesque language customar on such occasions, a reporter heard say, “Beg pardon,” and then he drove The passengers in the car all laughed, az those who did not hear the cabman’s poli speech were greatly amused at his bow, and his rather pained though exceedingly polite smile. When Broadway is very to BLAINE HOMESTEAD PLANS. Congressman Acheson to I BUM for ts Presery From the Philad ipbia Press. The citizens of West Brownsville, Pa., are Interested in a plan to preserve the home- stead in which James G. Blaine was born, The house has fallen into a ruinous condi- tion, ard on account of the danger of visit- ors to the place being injured by its ce lapse, a portion has been torn down Congressman E. F. Acheson will intro- duce a dill asking for $10,0%) to be used in caring for the dead statesman’s birthplace, — — Perhaps Exaggerated. From the Philadephia Ledger. A man cannot do two things at a time. A woman will broil a steak, and see that the coffee does not boil over, and watch the cat that she does not steal the remn: of the meat on the kitchen table, and dress the youngest boy, and set the table, and see to the roast, and stir the oatmeal, and give the orders to the butcher, and she can do it all at once and not half try. Man has dcne wonders since he came before the pub- lc. He has navigated the ocean, he has penetrated the mysteries of starr heavens, he has ha ed the lightni: and made it pull street cars light the great cities of the world. Bu e can't tind a spool of red thread in his wife's work basket; he can’t discover her pocket in a dress hanging in the closet; he cannot hang out clothes and them on the line the right end up. He cannot hold clothe: pins in his mouth while he is doing it, eit er. He cannot be polite to somebody he hates. He can’t sit in a rocking chair wit! out banging the rockers into the baseboar 4. He can't put the tidy on the sofa pillow right side out. —___+e- His Life Depended on It. From the New York ‘Tribu: E. R. Gunby, the republican candidate for governor of Florida, tells this story: “A colored man was working on the wharf in Savannah the other day, and was paid off in silver. He put a half dollar in his mouth to bite it and see if it was lead, and it slipped down his throat and stuck about half-way down. In great alarm he ran @ surgeon and asked him to cut it ‘Can't cut that out,” Kot to stay there. Say, tered? ‘No, sah; I isn’t re the colored man. registered right ‘ou go and ge id the surgeon, because if Bryan is elected that half-dollar will be a dollar, From the Philadelphia North American, “I can offer your daughter nothing but my devoted heart,” said Scroggs. “Um! Well, I don't find hearts quoted on the stock list,” grunted the worldly parent, tery. No My m the Cleveland Leader. ‘Why does Lambert always wear his best clothes at the office and put on his old ones when he isn’t at work? Most men do the opposite.” “Lambert has girl in this tow e best looking typewriter tee Unnecessary Alarm, From the Detroit Free Press. He—“You must not take me too seriously, Miss Pertl; She—“No danger. ing you at all.” I have no idea of tak- Gladness Comes Wit a better understanding of the transient nature of the many phys- — ills, che ——— —— proper ef- forts—gentle efforts—pleasant efforts— rightly directed. There is comfort in the knowledge, that so many forms of sickness are not due to any actual dis- ease, but simply to a constipated con: tion of the system, which the pleasant family laxative, Syrup of Figs, prompt- ly removes. That is why it is the onl, remedy with millions of families, and is everywhere esteemed so highly by all who value health. Its beneficial effects are due to the fact, that itis the one remedy which promotes internal cleanliness without debilitating the organs on which it acts. It is therefore all important, in order to get its bene- ficial effects, to note when you pur- chase, that you have the genuine arti: cle, which is manufactured by the Cali- fornia Fig Syrup Co. only and sold by all reputable druggists. If in the ag ieee of good health, and the system is regular, laxatives or other remedies are then not needed. If afflicted with any actual disease, one may be commended to the most skillful physicians, but if in need of a laxative, one should have the best, and with the well-informed everywhere, Syrup of Figs stands highest and is most largely used and gives most general satisfaction. ———Every business has a leadei In the laundry business it’s the Yale, 514 10th st. Phone 1092. It